


Sleep on the Left Side

by Lady_Ganesh



Category: Less Than Epic Adventures of TJ and Amal
Genre: M/M, Missing Scene, Road Trip, Yuletide Treat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-24
Updated: 2012-12-24
Packaged: 2017-11-22 05:33:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,131
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/606347
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lady_Ganesh/pseuds/Lady_Ganesh
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>TJ and Amal keep moving, but they stop for burritos first.</p><p>Contains spoilers up to Chapter 34, "Stay Where You Are." (Set slightly earlier in the story.) Thanks to Lawless523 for betaing; any remaining mistakes are mine.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sleep on the Left Side

**Author's Note:**

  * For [opalmatrix](https://archiveofourown.org/users/opalmatrix/gifts).



TJ slid into the seat and opened his bottled water. He took a long, well-deserved drink. A hundred more bucks down, who the hell knew how many more to go anymore, but the sun was shining and Amal was hot, and it looked like he'd been watching TJ suck down his water, which was promising. "So this guy told me about a burrito place," he said, wiping his mouth and winking at Amal. "It's right on the way. They got fish and everything, so even you can eat 'em."

Amal frowned and turned his attention back to the road. "Burritos? Seriously? We're in North Carolina. Are we really going to get a good burrito in North Carolina?"

TJ shook his head. "Your thinking is too limited, my friend. Good food can be found anywhere you roam."

"Good food, sure. It's the Mexican part I'm doubting. Don't take this wrong, but did the guy _look_ like he'd know a good burrito place? Was he local, or--"

TJ waved a hand at him. "He's a trucker, been all over the place. He said they had Mexican Coke, and the key to a _primo_ Mexican place is Mexican Coke." TJ thought for a moment. "And the guy had alla his teeth, so fuck you."

Amal flipped him off. "Look, just because--"

"Nope," TJ said. "Nope, nope, nope. Mexican Coke. Your argument is invalid. And I want a burrito."

"Fine, Amal sighed. "But don't blame me when it sucks."

TJ watched him drive, those dark muscular arms guiding the car like...like. Something. Lawrence of Arabia guiding his horse through the desert sands. No, that was stupid. Something, something...his mind drifted to music. _Something in the way he moves...._ "You have any George Harrison on your iPod?"

"Good question," Amal said. You can check."

TJ flipped through the screen. "You have all this easy listening shit, but no George Harrison."

"It's not easy listening," Amal said, easily. "I guess all my George Harrison's on vinyl."

"You're shitting me."

"Actually," Amal said, "yes. I don't even own a record player. But I don't like all of his stuff, anyway-- there's Cornershop on there, try that."

TJ scrolled back up. There it was, Cornershop. A band, not a song.

"This," he said, after the first few measures of _Norwegian Wood,_ "is not George Harrison."

"Yeah," TJ said. "They have a real sitar player."

 

"Okay," Amal said, halfway through his third burrito. "Yes. You were right. I concede."

TJ pointed his finger. "I _told_ you. Mexican Coke. Can't go wrong with Mexican Coke."

"You can go wrong with almost anything."

 _Ain't that the truth,_ TJ thought, but he said, "You know? Your attitude sucks sometimes."

Amal hesitated for a moment, and TJ braced for a long - and justified - rant about just _why_ Amal's attitude sucked. But then he shrugged and said, "Yeah. It does." 

Shit. "Look, I'm sorry--" 

"No," Amal said, waving it off. "That's fair. I just--" 

"Yeah," he said. "I get it. I'm sorry." 

"I want things to get back to normal, and I know they're never going to be, and I keep being pissed about it." He shook his head. "And then I feel stupid." 

"You're not stupid." 

Amal just shook his head again. 

"So we're close to the mountains?" TJ asked, as they got back into Amal's car. Amal's car was pretty nice. Well maintained, like his body and probably everything else in Amal's life. TJ wondered what it was like, to have all that to lose, and let it all go. 

He wondered if he could've done it. He grabbed the iPod and shuffled through. 

_Brimful of Asha on the forty-five..._

"Thought you didn't like this," Amal said.

"It's growing on me. As long as I don't have to hear that excuse for _Norwegian Wood_ again."

He probably would've gone his whole life without listening to Cornershop if Amal hadn't told his parents to fuck off with their arranged marriage plan. Weird. TJ had gone into this with one goal, and he'd ended up with something else completely. But it sucked that everything had to go to shit for Amal for it to happen. "So, um. Did you grow up with Bollywood, that kind of stuff?"

"Not really," Amal said. "My parents watch movies once in a while, but they like Western stuff. Dad has a bunch of Miles Davis albums. On vinyl, for real." He put the turn signal on and turned right. "This is right, right?"

"Yeah," TJ said, even though he hadn't checked the map for fifty miles. "Think so."

"I mean, we did holidays and stuff, and they always taught us to be proud of our heritage, but I thought they were pretty assimilated until they started getting serious about our arranged marriages. Shows you how much I know."

"So I guess you never learned to play sitar."

Amal laughed. "Nope."

TJ reached out and drew a slow line up Amal's thigh with his fingernail. "You're good with your hands. Bet you'd be good at all kinds of shit, you put your mind to it."

"Not now," Amal said, squirming away, though not too abruptly. "I'm trying to drive!"

TJ winked. "We could pull over." His own pants were getting plenty uncomfortable. Nice little blowjob would take the edge right off.

"Yeah, that'll be fun to explain to the cops. Sorry, officer, Teej here needed a quickie."

"Man's got needs," TJ said. "I'm only human! Gotta have my food and creative love."

"We'll get creative tonight, okay?"

"That a promise?" TJ grinned.

"Yeah," he said. "Sure."

Amal would be fine. He'd land on his feet. Probably make up with his parents once they got over the shock.

It'd be good. Bright, happy future ahead. They'd have some more fun, make it to Rhode Island, Amal would see his sister graduate. TJ would start over, finally get to do something he wanted to do. They'd go their separate ways. No big deal. Take their fun while they could.

"You know," he said. "I've been thinking."

"Dangerous."

"Yeah, yeah. About your tattoo. If I gave you one."

"Not your name after all?" Amal's face was great when he was deep in thought. His patients would be all over him. Yes, Doctor Chakravarthy, I had a _terrible_ pain. Only you can help me.

Oh yeah, the tattoo. "Nah. I'm thinking the Wheel of Fortune."

Amal's mouth quirked. "You think I should buy a vowel?"

"Nah, the real one. You know, fortuno, destiny, all that shit. Maybe with a lotus in the center. I give myself to the power of fate."

"Like the dharma wheel?" He grinned. "Maybe a steering wheel."

"Maybe? Anyway. A wheel, with a lotus. Keep it moving, you know?"

"Yeah," Amal said, nodding. "I like that. Keep moving."

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to my beta, and to E.K. Weaver for giving me such a fun universe to play in.
> 
> There really is a [primo burrito place](http://pescadosburritos.net/cs/Satellite?blobcol=urlfile&blobheader=application%2Fpdf&blobheadername1=Content-Disposition&blobheadervalue1=inline%3B+filename%3Dpescados-burritos-menu_12-29-11.pdf&blobkey=id&blobtable=Document&blobwhere=1300977647698&ssbinary=true&moddate=2011-12-29%2009:12:49) by the Smoky Mountains. I checked.
> 
> Enjoy some Cornershop: [Sleep on the Left Side,](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jbf_ZPWRN6c) [Norwegian Wood,](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_5V62wxnWY) and [Brimful of Asha.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lM7H0ooV_o8)


End file.
